Samajwadi Party feud: EC likley to decide fate of 'cycle' today

The Election Commission is expected to announce on Monday its decision on the demand for 'cycle' symbol by the two warring factions of the Samajwadi Party. The EC, after hearing both the sides on Friday,

The Election Commission is expected to announce on Monday its decision on the demand for 'cycle' symbol by the two warring factions of the Samajwadi Party.

The EC, after hearing both the sides on Friday, had reserved its verdict on the issue.

Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav have been asserting their respective claims over the party's election symbol 'cycle'.

Mulayam Singh has been insisting on his right to the symbol being the party founder and also its "present President". Meanwhile, Akhilesh was appointed the "President" of the party at an "emergency national convention" called on January 1 in Lucknow.

The meeting was convened by Akhilesh's confidant and Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav.

The Akhilesh-led faction has been claiming ownership to the symbol, saying that it enjoyed the support of the majority of the party's members of Parliament and the legislators.

There are chances that the Election Commission may come up with an option of freezing the 25-year-old Samajwadi Party symbol ‘cycle’. Both sides can be asked to pick a new name and symbol in the interim.

They could be looking at an array of free symbols such as “mortar and pestle”, “wool and needles”, or “dumbbells”, which are up for grabs, to make their pick.